Systems and methods for altering navigation instructions based on the consumption time of media content

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described ensuring that a user will be able to consume selected media content in its entirety. In particular, a media guidance application described herein determines an amount of time (102) required to reach a destination (116) and compares time (104) exceeds the amount of time (102) required to reach the destination, it calculates a route (120) for a current trip in which the length of time required to traverse a calculated route corresponds to the play length of the selected media asset.

BACKGROUND

Due to the increase in wireless technology, media is now accessible tousers in places and forums where it traditionally was not. For example,a user may wish to access media content while traveling (e.g., in a car,bus, plane, etc.). However, if the length of the trip is shorter thanthe length of the media content, the users will not be able to consumethe media content in its entirety.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, systems and methods are described herein ensuring that auser will be able to consume selected media content in its entirety. Inparticular, a media guidance application described herein calculates aroute for a current trip in Which the length of time required totraverse a calculated route corresponds to the play length of theselected media asset. Accordingly, the user will complete playback ofthe media content during the current trip and will not have to pause andresume (or worry about not being able to resume the media content on adifferent device) after the current trip. For example, if the length ofthe selected media content is longer than the amount of time required toreach a destination, then an alternate route is proposed to the user sothat the new time required to reach the destination is longer than thelength of the movie.

In some aspects, a media guidance application may determine a first pathfrom a first node to a final node, wherein the first path includes asecond node between the first node and the final node. The determinationof a path may be performed using any suitable best path algorithm suchas Dijkstra's algorithm, A*, and breadth-first search. In someembodiments, the first path is defined by a series of roads, traversablewith a vehicle, connecting the first node to the final node. The roadmay be a paved road and may be a local road or a highway. In someembodiments, the first node corresponds to an intersection of aplurality of roads, wherein each of the plurality of roads istraversable with a vehicle. The intersection may be of two local roads,two highways, or a local road and a highway.

The media guidance application may determine a first travel time,wherein the first travel time corresponds to an amount of time requiredto traverse the first path in a vehicle. The determination may be madeusing a navigation system of the self-driving car. In seine embodiments,the first travel time may include travel delays associated with trafficand weather.

The media guidance application may store the first travel time inmemory. Storing the first travel time in memory may be performed usingprocessing circuitry and any suitable storage device. In someembodiments, the first travel time may be dynamically updated if travelconditions change during the trip.

The media guidance application may receive a user request to consume amedia asset. For example, the user may use a user interface to select amovie to consume during the trip. The user interface may comprise atouch-screen display. In some embodiments, the user request may beperformed using a voice command.

The media guidance application may determine a threshold time, whereinthe threshold time corresponds to an amount of time required to consumethe media asset in its entirety. The amount of time required to consumethe media asset in its entirety may be retrieved from metadataassociated with the media asset.

The media guidance application may store the threshold time in thememory. The threshold time may be stored in the same storage device asthe first travel time. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may adjust the threshold time based on a fast-accessplayback operation received while the user is consuming the media asset.For example, if the user selects to skip a portion of the movie, thethreshold time is dynamically reduced an amount equal to the duration ofthe skipped portion of the movie.

The media guidance application may retrieve the first travel time andthe threshold time from the memory. Retrieval of the first travel timeand the threshold time may be performed using processing circuitry fromthe storage device where the first travel time and threshold time isstored.

The media guidance application may compare the first travel time and thethreshold time. For example, if the first travel time exceeds thethreshold time, then the media asset will be consumed in its entiretybefore the vehicle arrives at the destination and the vehicle may usethe first path to determine the route. If the first travel time does notexceed the threshold time, then the media asset cannot be consumed inits entirety before the vehicle arrives at the destination using thefirst path.

The media guidance application may, in response to determining that thethreshold time exceeds the first travel time, determine a second pathfrom a first node to a final node, wherein the second path includes athird node between the first node and the final node. In someembodiments, the second path may include the second node. For example,the first path may comprise travelling on a highway for the majority ofthe path and the second path may comprise travelling on local roads forthe majority of the path.

The media guidance application may determine a second travel time,wherein the second travel time corresponds to an amount of time requiredto traverse the second path in the vehicle. The second travel time mayexceed the first travel time if a longer route is determined.

The media guidance application may store the second travel time inmemory. Storing the second travel time in memory may be performed usingprocessing circuitry and the same storage device where the first traveltime and threshold time is stored. In some embodiments, the secondtravel time may he dynamically updated if travel conditions changeduring the trip.

The media guidance application may retrieve the second travel time andthe threshold time from the memory. Retrieval of the second travel timeand the threshold time may be performed using processing circuitry hornthe storage device where the second travel time and threshold time isstored.

The media guidance application may compare the second travel time andthe threshold time. For example, if the second travel time exceeds thethreshold time, then the media asset will be consumed in its entiretybefore the vehicle arrives at the destination, and the vehicle may usethe second path to determine the route. If the second travel time doesnot exceed the threshold time, then the media asset cannot be consumedin its entirety before the vehicle arrives at the destination using thesecond path.

The media guidance application may, in response to determining that thesecond time equals or exceeds the threshold time, generate navigationinstructions for the vehicle, wherein the navigation instructions arebased on the second path. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display the navigation instructions on auser interface in the vehicle. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may receive a user request to transmit the navigationinstructions to a navigation system in the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive a userrequest to ignore the navigation instructions. The media guidanceapplication may then generate secondary navigation instructions for thevehicle, wherein the secondary navigation instructions are based on thefirst path. The media guidance application may then transmit thesecondary navigation instructions to the navigation system in thevehicle. For example, if the user requests to watch a movie during atrip in a self-driving car, the user may be more interested in arrivingat the destination as soon as possible instead of watching the movie inits entirety during the trip in the self-driving car.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate anindication that the media guidance cannot be consumed in its entirety.The media guidance application may generate for display the indicationon the user interface in the vehicle. For example, if a user requests towatch a movie that is longer than the first travel time, the user mayreceive an indication on the user interface in the self-driving car thatthe movie cannot be watched in its entirety using the first path.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thatthe vehicle has arrived at the final node. The media guidanceapplication may then receive a user request to finish consuming themedia asset outside of the vehicle. For example, if the user is watchinga movie in the self-driving car that has not been watched in itsentirety before arriving at the user's home, the user may request tofinish watching the movie on the user's television in their home.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thevehicle has begun traversing the second path. The media guidanceapplication may then determine a third travel time, wherein the thirdtravel time corresponds to an amount of time required to traverse aremainder of the second path in the vehicle. The media guidanceapplication may then initiate playback of the media asset. The mediaguidance application may then store the third travel time in the memory.The media guidance application may then determine a revised thresholdtime, wherein the revised threshold time corresponds to an amount oftime required to consume the remainder of the media asset in itsentirety after initiating playback. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may store the revised threshold time in the memory.The media guidance application may then retrieve the third travel timeand the revised threshold time from the memory. The media may thencompare the third travel time and the revised threshold time. In someembodiments, in response to determining that the third travel time doesnot exceed the revised threshold time, the media guidance applicationmay alert the user.

It should be noted the systems and/or methods described above may beapplied to, or used in accordance with, other systems, methods and/orapparatuses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative example of a navigation display screen inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative example of a display screen for use inaccessing media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 3 shows another illustrative example of a display screen used inaccessing media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative example of pseudocode for calculating aroute in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure:

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative example of a navigation display screen inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods are described herein ensuring that a user will beable to consume selected media content in its entirety. In particular, amedia guidance application described herein calculates a route for acurrent trip in which the length of time required to traverse acalculated route corresponds to the play length of the selected mediaasset. Accordingly, the user will complete playback of the media contentduring the current trip and will not have to pause and resume (or worryabout not being able to resume the media content) after the currenttrip. For example, if the length of the selected media content is longerthan the amount of time required to reach a destination, then analternate route is proposed to the user so that the new time required toreach the destination is longer than the length of the movie.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative example of a navigation display screen inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a mediaguidance application as described herein may generate navigation displayscreen 100 or the information used by, or transmitted to, navigationdisplay screen 100. For example, navigation display screen 100 may beincorporated into, or accessible by, a device upon which a mediaguidance application is implemented. Navigation display screen 100 mayinclude arrival time region 102 and media asset length region 104.Arrival time region 102 may display the estimated time to arrival of thecurrent route. For example, the media guidance application may determinethe estimated time to arrival by determining a best path from a firstnode to a final node and determining a travel time corresponding to theamount of time required to traverse the best path, as discussed below.Media asset length region 104 may display the length of the selectedmedia asset. For example, the media guidance application may determine athreshold time that corresponds to an amount of time required to consumethe media asset in its entirety, as discussed below. For example, if theuser selected a movie to be consumed during the current trip, the lengthof the selected movie may be displayed. The estimated time displayed inarrival time region 102 and media asset length region 104 may comprisean amount of time in hours and minutes. In some embodiments, theestimated time displayed in arrival time region 102 and media assetlength region 104 may comprise an amount of time in minutes and seconds.

Navigation display screen 100 tray include navigation query region 106,affirmative response region 108, and negative response region 110.Navigation query region 106 may display a query related to theinformation displayed in arrival time region 102 and media asset lengthregion 104. For example, the media guidance application may determinewhether the amount of time required to consume the media asset in itsentirety exceeds the travel time, as discussed below. For example,navigation query region 106 may display a query related to whether toadjust navigation in order to finish watching the selected media asset.Affirmative response region 108 may display an affirmative indication inrelation to the query in navigation query region 106. For example, theword “yes” may be displayed in affirmative response region 108. In afurther example, a checkmark may be displayed in affirmative responseregion 108. Negative response region 110 may display a negativeindication in relation to the query in navigation query region 106, Forexample, the word “no” may be displayed in negative response region 110.In a further example, an “X” may be displayed in negative responseregion 110.

Navigation display screen 100 may be a touchscreen. For example, theuser may touch the region of navigation display screen 100 correspondingto affirmative response region 108 in order to affirmatively respond tothe query in navigation query region 106. In a further example, the usermay touch the region of navigation display screen 100 corresponding tonegative response region 110 in order to negatively respond to the queryin navigation query region 106.

Navigation display screen 100 may include map region 112. Map region 112may include departure point 114 and destination point 116. Departurepoint 114 and destination point 116 may correspond to physicallocations. For example, departure point 114 may correspond to the user'shome address and destination point 116 may correspond to a hotel. Mapregion 112 may include original route 118 and alternate route 120.Original route 118 may correspond to the fastest route between departurepoint 114 and destination point 116. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine the fastest path between a first node and afinal node and generate navigation instructions for the vehicle based onthe first path, as discussed below, Alternate route 120 may correspondto a longer route between departure point 114 and destination point 116.For example, the media guidance application may determine a second pathbetween a first node and a final node and generate navigationinstructions for the vehicle based on the second path, as discussedbelow.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. Another type of media guidanceapplication is a navigation guidance application. Navigation guidanceapplications are well known guidance applications that, among otherthings, allow users to select and visualize navigation data. As referredto herein, the terms “media asset” and “content” should be understood tomean an electronically consumable user asset, such as televisionprogramming, as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as invideo-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streamingcontent, downloadable content, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio,content information, pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists,websites, articles, books, electronic books, blogs, chat sessions,social media, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimediaand/or combination of the same. Guidance applications also allow usersto navigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance. As referred to herein, the term “navigationdata” should be understood to mean any data related to data used inoperating the navigation guidance application. For example, thenavigation data may include map data, traffic data, global positioningsystem data, navigation directions, and any other type of guidance datathat is helpful for a user to select and visualize navigationinstructions.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

With the advent of tire Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections. In some embodiments, guidance data mayinclude navigation data that is helpful for a user to select andvisualize navigation instructions.

FIGS. 2-3 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 2-3 may beimplemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While thedisplays of FIGS. 2-3 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A usermay indicate a desire to access content information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user inputinterface or device. In response to the user's indication, the mediaguidance application may provide a display screen with media guidancedata organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in agrid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming) or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria,

FIG. 2 shows illustrative grid of a program listings display 200arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different typesof content in a single display. For example, navigation display screen100 may include program listings display 200 in order to allow the userto navigate and select a media asset to consume during the trip. Display200 may include grid 202 with: (1) a column of channel/content typeidentifiers 204, where each channel/content type identifier (which is acell in the column) identifies a different channel or content typeavailable; and (2) a row of time identifiers 206, where each timeidentifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block ofprogramming. Grid 202 also includes cells of program listings, such asprogram listing 208, where each listing provides the title of theprogram provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With auser input device, a user can select program listings by movinghighlight region 210. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 210 may be provided in program informationregion 212. Region 212 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined torte and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 202 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 214, recorded content listing 216, andInternet content listing 218. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 200 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings214, 216, and 218 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 202 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in. grid 202. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 220. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 220)

Display 200 may also include video region 222, and options region 226,Video region 222 may allow the user to view and/or preview programs thatare currently available, will be available, or were available to theuser. The content of video region 222 may correspond to, or beindependent from, one of the listings displayed in grid 202. Griddisplays including a video region are sometimes referred to aspicture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalitiesare described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No.6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794,issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other mediaguidance application display screens of the embodiments describedherein.

Options region 226 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 226 may be part of display 200 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 226 may concern features related to program listings in grid 202or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, c-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations,

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 5. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer ct al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 3. Video mosaic display 300 includes selectable options 302 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. For example, navigation display screen 100 mayinclude video mosaic display 300 in order to allow the user to navigateand select a media asset to consume during the trip. In display 300.television listings option 304 is selected, thus providing listings 306,308, 310, and 312 as broadcast program listings. In display 301) thelistings may provide graphical images including cover art, still imagesfrom the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, orother types of content that indicate to a user the content beingdescribed by the media guidance data in the listing. Each of thegraphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide furtherinformation about the content associated with the listing. For example,listing 308 may include more than one portion, including media portion314 and text portion 316. Media portion 314 and/or text portion 316 maybe selectable to view content in full-screen or to view informationrelated to the content displayed in media portion 314 (e.g., to viewlistings for the channel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 300 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 306 islarger than listings 308, 310, and 312), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 4 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 400. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 5,User equipment device 400 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 402. I/O path 402 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 404, which includesprocessing circuitry 406 and storage 408. Control circuitry 404 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 402. I/O path 402 may connect control circuitry 404 (andspecifically processing circuitry 406) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 404 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 406. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 404 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 408). Specifically, control circuitry 404 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 404 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 404 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 404 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services

digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL,) modem, atelephone modern, Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communicationswith other equipment, or any other suitable communications circuitry.Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths (which is described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 5). In addition, communications circuitry mayinclude circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of userequipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices inlocations remote from each other (described in more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 408 thatis part of control circuitry 404. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders. BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 408 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG 5, may be used to supplementstorage 408 or instead of storage 408.

Control circuitry 404 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 404 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvcrtingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment device 400. Circuitry 404 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 408 is provided as a separate device from userequipment device 400, the tuning and encoding circuitry (includingmultiple tuners) may be associated with storage 408.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 404 using user inputinterface 410. User input interface 410 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 412 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 400. For example, display 412 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 410may be integrated with or combined with display 412. Display 412 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 412 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 412 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D, Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 412.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics. MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry404. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 404.Speakers 414 may be provided as integrated with. other elements of userequipment device 400 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 412 may be played throughspeakers 414. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers414.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone applicationwholly-implemented on user equipment device 400. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage408), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 404 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 408 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 404 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from user input interface 410,For example, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicatedby the processed instructions when user input interface 410 indicatesthat an up/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 400 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 400. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 404 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 404) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below, The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on user equipment device 400. This way,the processing of the instructions is performed remotely by the serverwhile the resulting displays are provided locally on user equipmentdevice 400. Equipment device 400 may receive inputs from the user viauser input interface 410 and transmit those inputs to the remote serverfor processing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,user equipment device 400 may transmit a communication to the remoteserver indicating that an up/down button was selected via user inputinterface 410. The remote server may process instructions in accordancewith that input and generate a display of the application correspondingto the input (e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). Thegenerated display is then transmitted to user equipment device 400 forpresentation to the user,

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 404). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 404 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 404. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 404. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 400 of FIG. 4 can be implemented in system 500 ofFIG. 5 as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504,wireless user communications device 506, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a vehicleentertainment system. For simplicity, these devices may be referred toherein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and maybe substantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 4 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, or awireless user communications device 506. For example, user televisionequipment 502 may, like some user computer equipment 504, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 504 may, like some user television equipment 502,include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 504, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 506.

In system 500, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 5 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, system 500 may include a global positioning systemor GPS. A GPS uses the position of specialized satellites to determine aprecise portion. The specialized satellites broadcast radio signalsproviding their locations and precise time from atomic clocks onboard.Since the time onboard the satellites are different from the time of theGPS system, the GPS system calculates its distance from the satellitesusing the difference in time. In order to obtain a precise location inthree dimensions, a minimum of four satellites are needed.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless user communicationsdevice 506) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 514.Namely, user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, andwireless user communications device 506 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 514 via communications paths 508, 510, and 512, respectively.Communications network 514 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 508, 510, and 512 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.gIPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 512 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 it is awireless path and paths 508 and 510 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 508, 510, and 512, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 514.

System 500 includes content source 516 and media guidance data source518 coupled to communications network 514 via communication paths 520and 522, respectively. Paths 520 and 522 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 508, 510,and 512. Communications with the content source 516 and media guidancedata source 518 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 516 and media guidance data source 518, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between content sources 516 and518 with user equipment devices 502, 504. and 506 are shown as throughcommunications network 514, in some embodiments, content sources 516 and518 may communicate directly with user equipment devices 502, 504, and506 via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 508, 510, and 512.

Content source 516 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC. HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 516 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 516 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 516 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety,

Media guidance data source 518 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Programschedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 518may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with media guidance datasource 518 to obtain guidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidancedata is out of date or when the user equipment device receives a requestfrom the user to receive data. Media guidance may be provided to theuser equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, auser-specified period of time, a system-specified period of time, inresponse to a request front user equipment, etc.). Media guidance datasource 518 may provide user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 themedia guidance application itself or software updates for the mediaguidance application.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model. (e.g.,a survivor model) used for generating a score that indicates alikelihood a given user will terminate access to a service/source. Forexample, the media guidance application may process the viewer data withthe subscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions that entice the user tokeep the particular service or source indicated by the score as one towhich the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 408, and executedby control circuitry 404 of a user equipment device 400. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 404 of user equipment device 400and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 518) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 518), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 518 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices502, 504, and 506 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. Off contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user equipment, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 500 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 5.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 514.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. PatentPublication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess art online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 516 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 502 and user computer equipment 504may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 506 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 514. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 516 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 518. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and wirelessuser communications device 506. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud storing content locally and accessing locally-stored content.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 504 or wireless usercommunications device 506 leaving content capture feature.Alternatively, the user can first transfer the content to a userequipment device, such as user computer equipment 504. The userequipment device storing the content uploads the content to the cloudusing a data transmission service on communications network 514. In someembodiments, the user equipment device itself is a cloud resource, andother user equipment devices can access the content directly from theuser equipment device on which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device caredownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 4.

As referred herein, the term “in response to” refers to initiated as aresult of For example, a first action being performed in response to asecond action may include interstitial steps between the first actionand the second action. As referred herein, the term “directly inresponse to” refers to caused by. For example, a first action beingperformed directly in response to a second action may not includeinterstitial steps between the first action and the second action.

As referred to herein, a “playback operation” refers to any mediaguidance application operation that relates to playing back a mediaasset. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may perform afast-access playback operation. As referred to herein, the phrase“fast-access playback operations” should be understood to mean anyplayback operation that pertains to playing back a non-linear mediaasset taster than normal playback speed or in a different order than themedia asset is designed to be played, such as a fast-forward, rewind,skip, chapter selection, segment selection, skip segment, jump segment,next segment, previous segment, skip advertisement or commercial, nextchapter, previous chapter, or any other operation that does not playback the media asset at normal playback speed. The fast-access playbackoperation may be any playback operation that is not “play,” where theplay operation plays back the media asset at normal playback speed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a mediaguidance application implementing process 600 may be executed by controlcircuitry 404 (FIG. 4). It should be noted that process 600 or any stepthereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices orequipment shown in FIGS. 4-5.

Process 600 begins at 602, where the media guidance application begins aprocess for determining an amount of time required to reach adestination. For example, the media guidance application may execute(e.g., via control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4)) a program script initializingprocess 600. The media guidance application may display the amount oftime required to reach the destination in arrival time region 102 ofnavigation display screen 100.

Process 600 continues to 604, where the media guidance applicationreceives a user request to consume a media asset. In some embodiments,the user may request to consume the media asset using navigation displayscreen 100. In some embodiments, the user may request to consume themedia asset using a personal device such as a cell phone or a tablet.

Process 600 continues to 606, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining an amount of time required to consumethe media asset in its entirety. The media guidance application maydisplay the amount of time required to consume the media asset in mediaasset length region 104 of navigation display screen 100.

Process 600 continues to 608, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining whether the amount of time required toconsume the media asset in its entirety is larger than the amount oftime required to reach the destination. For example, control circuitry404 (FIG. 4) may compare the amount of time required to consume themedia asset in its entirety and the amount of time required to reach thedestination.

If the amount of time required to consume the media asset in itsentirety s larger than the amount of time required to reach thedestination, Process 600 continues to 610, where the media guidanceapplication begins a process for calculating a route, wherein the amountof time required to reach the destination using the route is larger thanthe amount of time required to consume the media asset in its entiretyby a threshold amount. The media guidance application may display theroute in map region 112 of navigation display screen 100. For example,alternate route 120 may correspond to the calculated route.

If the amount of time required to consume the media asset in itsentirety is not larger than the amount of time required to reach thedestination, Process 600 continues to 612, where the media guidanceapplication begins a process for calculating a route, wherein the routeis the fastest route. The media guidance application may display theroute in map region 112 of navigation display screen 100. For example,original route 118 may correspond to the calculated route.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 6 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a mediaguidance application implementing process 700 may be executed by controlcircuitry 404 (FIG. 4). It should be noted that process 700 or any stepthereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices orequipment shown in FIGS. 4-5.

Process 700 begins at 702, where the media guidance application begins aprocess for determining a first path from a first node to a final node,wherein the first path includes a second node between the first node andthe final node. For example, the media guidance application may execute(e.g., via control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4)) a program script initializingprocess 700. The determination of a path may be performed using anysuitable best path algorithm such as Dijkstra's algorithm, A*, andbreadth-first search. In some embodiments, the first path is defined bya series of roads, traversable with a vehicle, connecting the first nodeto the final node. The road may be a paved road and may be a local roador a highway. In some embodiments, the first node corresponds to anintersection of a plurality of roads, wherein each of the plurality ofroads is traversable with a vehicle. The intersection may be of twolocal roads, two highways, or a local road and a highway.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may use Dijkstra'salgorithm to determine a path. Dijkstra's algorithm finds the shortestpath between the first node and the final node by calculating thedistance from the first node to every node near the first node, choosingthe nearest node and calculating the distance front the nearest node toevery node near the nearest node not including the first node. Multipleiterations of this process are performed until the final node is reachedusing the shortest distance. The physical location of the nodes may beobtained using the GPS in system 500.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may use A* todetermine a path. A* finds the shortest path using an informed searchalgorithm, which uses information related to the general direction ofthe final node. Specifically, A* selects the path that minimizesf(n)=g(n)+h(n), where a is the current node being analyzed, g(n) is thetotal distance from the first node to the current node, and h(n) is aheuristic function that estimates the total distance from the currentnode to the final node.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may usebreadth-first search to determine a path. Breadth-first search finds theshortest path between the first node and the final node by calculatingevery possible path using every possible intermediate node. The shortestpath is then selected from every possible path.

Process 700 continues to 704, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining a first travel time, wherein the firsttravel time corresponds to an amount of time required to traverse thefirst path in a vehicle. The determination may be made using anavigation system of the self-driving car, In some embodiments, thefirst travel time may include travel delays associated with traffic andweather. For example, the media guidance application may display thefirst travel time in arrival time region 102 of navigation displayscreen 100.

Process 700 continues to 706, where the media guidance applicationstores the first travel time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). Storing the first travel time in memory may be performed usingprocessing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and any suitable storage device (e.g.,storage device 408 (FIG. 4)). In some embodiments, the first travel timemay be dynamically updated if travel conditions change during the trip.

Process 700 continues to 708, where the media guidance applicationreceives a user request to consume a media asset. For example, the usermay use a user interface (e.g., user input interface 410 (FIG. 4) toselect a movie to consume during the trip, The user interface maycomprise a touch-screen display. In some embodiments, the user requestmay be performed using a voice command. In some embodiments, the usermay request to consume the media asset using navigation display screen100. In some embodiments, the user may request to consume the mediaasset using a personal device such as a cell phone or a tablet

Process 700 continues to 710, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining a threshold time, wherein the thresholdtime corresponds to an amount of time required to consume the mediaasset in its entirety. The amount of time required to consume the mediaasset in its entirety may be retrieved from metadata associated with themedia asset. For example, the media guidance application may display thethreshold time in media asset length region 104 of navigation displayscreen 100.

Process 700 continues to 712, where the media guidance applicationstores the threshold time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)).The threshold time may be stored in the same storage device as the firsttravel time. In some embodiments, the media guidance application mayadjust the threshold time based on a fast-access playback operationreceived while the user is consuming the media asset. For example, ifthe user selects to skip a portion of the movie, the threshold time isdynamically reduced an amount equal to the duration of the skippedportion of the movie.

Process 700 continues to 714, where the media guidance applicationretrieves the first travel time and the threshold time from memory(e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)). Retrieval of the first travel timeand the threshold time may be performed using processing circuitry 406(FIG. 4) from the storage device where the first travel time andthreshold time is stored.

Process 700 continues to 716, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining Whether the threshold time exceeds thefirst travel time. For example, if the first travel time exceeds thethreshold time, then the media asset will be consumed in its entiretybefore the vehicle arrives at the destination and the vehicle may usethe first path to determine the route. If the first travel time does notexceed the threshold time, then the media asset cannot be consumed inits entirety before the vehicle arrives at the destination using thefirst path.

If the threshold time exceeds the first travel time, Process 700continues to 718, where the media guidance application begins a processfor determining a second path from the first node to the final node,wherein the second path includes a third node between the first node andthe final node. In some embodiments, the second path nay include thesecond node. For example, the first path may comprise travelling on ahighway for the majority of the path and the second path may comprisetravelling on local roads for the majority of the path. If the thresholdtime does not exceed the first travel time, Process 700 continues to730, where the media guidance application ends Process 700.

Process 700 continues to 720, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process fir determining a second travel time, wherein thesecond travel time corresponds to an amount of time required to traversethe second path in the vehicle. The second travel time may exceed thefirst travel time if a longer route is determined.

Process 700 continues to 722. where the media guidance applicationstores the second travel time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). Storing tiny, second travel time in memory may be performed usingprocessing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and the same storage device (e.g.,storage device 408 (FIG. 4)) where the first travel time and thresholdtime is stored. In some embodiments, the second travel time may bedynamically updated if travel conditions change during the trip.

Process 700 continues to 724, where the media guidance applicationretrieves the second travel time and the threshold time from memory(e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)). Retrieval of the second travel timeand the threshold time may be performed using processing circuitry 406(FIG. 4) from the storage device (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4))where the second travel time arid threshold time is stored.

Process 700 continues to 726, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining whether the second time equals orexceeds the threshold time. For example, if the second travel timeexceeds the threshold time, then the media asset will be consumed in itsentirety before the vehicle arrives at the destination, and the vehiclemay use the second path to determine the route. If the second traveltime does not exceed the threshold time, then the media asset cannot beconsumed in its entirety before the vehicle arrives at the destinationusing the second path.

If the second time equals or exceeds the threshold time, Process 700continues to 728, where the media guidance application begins a processfor generating navigation instructions for the vehicle, wherein thenavigation instructions are based on the second path. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may generate for display thenavigation instructions on a user interface in the vehicle. For example,the media guidance application may display the navigation instructionsin map region 112 of navigation display screen 100. In some embodiments,the media guidance application may receive a user request to transmitthe navigation instructions to a navigation system in the vehicle. Forexample, the media guidance application may present a query to the userin navigation query region 106 along with affirmative response region108 and negative response region 110. The user may select affirmativeresponse region 108 in order to instruct the media guidance applicationto transmit the navigation instructions to the navigation system in thevehicle. If the second time does not equal or exceed the threshold time,Process 700 continues to 732, where the media guidance application endsProcess 700.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive a userrequest to ignore the navigation instructions. The media guidanceapplication may then generate secondary navigation instructions for thevehicle, wherein the secondary navigation instructions are based on thefirst path. The media guidance application may then transmit thesecondary navigation instructions to the navigation system in thevehicle. For example, the user may select the negative response region110 in order to instruct the media guidance application to transmit thesecondary instructions to the navigation system in the vehicle. Forexample, if the user requests to watch a movie during a trip in aself-driving car, the user may be more interested in arriving at thedestination as soon as possible instead of watching the movie in itsentirety during the trip in the self-driving car.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate anindication that the media cannot be consumed in its entirety. The mediaguidance application may generate for display the indication on the userinterface in the vehicle. For example, if a user requests to watch amovie that is longer than the first travel time, the user may receive anindication on the user interface in the self-driving driving car thatthe movie cannot be watched in its entirety using the first path. Insome embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay alternative media options for the user to consume. Thealternative media options may be shorter than the first travel time. Forexample, if a user requests to watch a movie that is longer than thefirst travel time, the user may receive alternative movies to watch thatare shorter than the first travel time.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thatthe vehicle has arrived at the final node. The media guidanceapplication may then receive a user request to finish consuming themedia asset outside of the vehicle. For example, the user may use a userinterface (e.g., user input interface 410 (FIG. 4) to request to finishconsuming the media asset outside of the vehicle. The user interface maycomprise a touch-screen display. In some embodiments, the request may beperformed using a voice command. In some embodiments, the user mayperform the request using navigation display screen 100. In someembodiments, the user may request to consume the media asset using apersonal device such as a cell phone or a tablet. In some embodiments,the user may request to consume the media asset on a television. Forexample, if the user is watching a movie in the self-driving car thathas not been watched in its entirety before arriving at the user's home,the user may request to finish watching the movie on the user'stelevision in their home.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 7 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in arty order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 7.

The pseudocode in FIG. 8 describes a process for calculating a route, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. It will be evidentto one skilled in the art that the process described by the pseudocodein FIG. 8 may be implemented in any number of programming languages anda variety of different hardware, and that the style and format shouldnot be construed as limiting, but rather a general template of the stepsand procedures that would be consistent with code used to implement someembodiments of this disclosure.

At line 801, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) initializes a subroutine todetermine a first path from a first node to a final node, wherein thefirst path includes a second node between the first node and the finalnode. For example, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) may copy instructionsfrom non-transitory storage medium (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4))into RAM or into the cache for processing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) duringthe initialization stage. For example, a separate routine may determinea path from the first node to the final node and then pass the result asparameters to the pseudocode (e.g., as input to a method). The separateroutine may comprise any suitable best path algorithm such as Dijkstra'salgorithm, A*, and breadth-first search, as described above.

At line 803, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine a first travel time, wherein the first travel time correspondsto an amount of time required to traverse the first path in a vehicle.At line 805, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) stores the first travel timein memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)).

At line 807, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) receives a user request toconsume a media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) mayreceive, via user input using user input interface 410 (FIG. 4), theuser request to consume the media asset.

At line 809, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine a threshold time, wherein the threshold time corresponds to anamount of time required to consume the media asset in its entirety. Atline 811, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) stores the threshold time inmemory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)).

At line 813, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) retrieves the first traveltime and the threshold time from memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). At line 815, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine whether the threshold time exceeds the first travel time.

At line 817, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine a second path from a first node to a final node, wherein thesecond path includes a third node between the first node and the finalnode.

At line 819, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine a second travel time, wherein the second travel timecorresponds to an amount of time required to traverse the second path inthe vehicle. At line 821, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) stores thesecond travel time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FTG. 4)).

At line 823, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) retrieves the second traveltime and the threshold time from memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). At line 825, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a routine todetermine whether the second time equals or exceeds the threshold time.

At line 827, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) iterates through the variousselected media assets; if only a single media asset has been selected,the loop will only execute once. This loop may be implemented inmultiple fashions depending on the choice of hardware and softwarelanguage used to implement the algorithm of FIG. 8; for example, thismay be implemented as part of a “for” or “while” loop.

At line 828, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) stores whether the firsttravel time equals or exceeds the threshold time as a Boolean variable“A.” In some embodiments, the variable will be stored as part of alarger data structure or class, and the value of Boolean variable A maybe obtained through appropriate accessor methods.

At line 829, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) stores whether the secondtime equals or exceeds the threshold time as a Boolean variable “B.” Insome embodiments, the variable will be stored as part of a larger datastructure or class, and the value of Boolean variable B may be obtainedthrough appropriate accessor methods.

At line 830, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) determines whether thelogical statement is true (e.g., that the first travel time equals orexceeds the threshold time). If the statement is true, then at line 831,control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a subroutine to generatenavigation instructions for the vehicle based on the first path.

At line 832, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) determines whether thelogical statement is true (e.g., that the second travel time equals orexceeds the threshold time). If the statement is true, then at line 833,the control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) executes a subroutine to generatenavigation instructions for the vehicle based on the second path.

At line 835, control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) runs a terminationsubroutine after the algorithm has performed its function. For example,in some embodiments control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) may destructvariables, perform garbage collection, free memory or clear the cache ofprocessing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4).

It will be evident to one skilled in the an that process 800 describedby the pseudocode may be implemented in any number of programminglanguages and a variety of different hardware, and the particular choiceand location of primitive functions, logical evaluations, and functionevaluations are not intended to be limiting. It will also be evidentthat the code may be refactored or rewritten to manipulate the order ofthe various logical evaluations, perform several iterations in parallelrather than in a single iterative loop, or to otherwise manipulate andoptimize run-time and performance metrics without fundamentally changingthe inputs or final outputs.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a mediaguidance application implementing process 900 may be executed by controlcircuitry 404 (FIG. 4). It should be noted that process 900 or any stepthereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices orequipment shown in FIGS. 4-5.

Process 900 begins at 902, where the media guidance application storesthe threshold time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)) asdescribed by step 712 of Process 700.

Process 900 continues to 904, where the media guidance applicationreceives a fast-access playback operation. For example, the user may usea user interface (e.g., user input interface 410 (FIG. 4) to select afast-access playback operation on a movie that is being consumed duringthe trip. The user interface may comprise a touch-screen display. Insome embodiments, the fast-access playback operation may be performedusing a voice command. In some embodiments, the user may perform thefast-access playback operation using navigation display screen 100. Insome embodiments, the user may request to consume the media asset usinga personal device such as a cell phone or a tablet. For example, theuser may want to skip a portion of the movie in order to finish themovie faster. Alternatively, the user may want to return to a previousportion of the movie if the user was not paying attention to the movieduring the previous portion.

Process 900 continues to 906, where the media guidance applicationretrieves the threshold time from memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). Retrieval of the threshold time may be performed using processingcircuitry 406 (FIG. 4) from the storage device where the threshold timeis stored.

Process 900 continues to 908, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for adjusting the threshold time based on thefast-access playback operation. For example, if the user skipped aportion of the movie, the threshold time is reduced by the amount oftime skipped in the movie. Alternatively, if the user returned to aprevious portion of the movie, the threshold time is increased by theamount of time added by the return to the previous portion of the movie.

Process 900 continues to 910, where the media guidance applicationstores the threshold time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)).Storing the threshold time in memory may be performed using processingcircuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and any suitable storage device (e.g., storagedevice 408 (FIG. 4)).

Process 900 continues to 912,where the media guidance applicationretrieves the first travel time and the threshold time from memory(e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)) as described by step 714 of Process700.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 9 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 9 may be done iu alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for calculating a route, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, a mediaguidance application implementing process 1000 may be executed bycontrol circuitry 404 (FIG. 4). It should be noted that process 1000 orany step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of thedevices or equipment shown in FIGS. 4-5.

Process 1000 begins at 1002, where the media guidance application beginsa process for generating navigation instructions for the vehicle,wherein the navigation instructions are based on the second path, asdescribed by step 728 of Process 700.

Process 1000 continues to 1004, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining whether a vehicle has begun traversinga second path. In some embodiments, the media guidance application maydetermine that the vehicle has begun traversing the second path based onthe response of the user to a query in navigation query region 106. Forexample, the user may select the negative response region 110 in orderto instruct the media guidance application to transmit the secondaryinstructions to the navigation system in the vehicle. Once the secondaryinstructions have been transmitted to the navigation system in thevehicle, the media guidance application can determine that the vehiclehas begun traversing the second path. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may determine that the vehicle has begun traversingthe second path based on navigation data from a GPS system.

If the vehicle has begun traversing a second path, Process 1000continues to 1006, where the media guidance application begins a processto determine a third travel time, wherein the third travel timecorresponds to an amount of time required to traverse a remainder of thesecond path in the vehicle. If the vehicle has not begun traversing asecond path, Process 1000 continues to 1022, where the media guidanceapplication ends Process 1000. For example, if the vehicle has beentraversing the second path and encounters unexpected traffic delay, thethird travel time would correspond to the amount of time required totraverse the remainder of the second path including the unexpectedtraffic delay.

Process 1000 continues to 1008, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for initiating playback of the media asset. Playback ofthe media asset may be performed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) usingdisplay 412 (SIG. 4) and speakers 414 (FIG. 4), For example, if the userselected a movie to be consumed during the trip, the movie would beginplaying.

Process 1000 continues to 1010, where the media guidance applicationstores the third travel time in memory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG.4)). Storing the third time in memory may be performed using processingcircuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and any suitable storage device (e.g., storagedevice 408 (FIG. 4)).

Process 1000 continues to 1012, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining a revised threshold time, wherein therevised threshold time corresponds to an amount of time required toconsume the remainder of the media asset in its entirety afterinitiating playback. For example, if the user has been watching a moviefor 10 minutes, the revised threshold time is 10 minutes less than thethreshold time

Process 1000 continues to 1014, where the media guidance applicationstores the revised threshold time in memory (e.g., storage device 408(FIG. 4)). Storing the revised threshold time in memory may be performedusing processing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) and any suitable storage device(e.g., storage device 408 (F1G. 4)).

Process 1000 continues to 1016, where the media guidance applicationretrieves the third travel time and the revised threshold time frommemory (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)). Retrieval of the thirdtravel time and the revised threshold time may be performed usingprocessing circuitry 406 (FIG. 4) from the storage device where thethreshold time is stored (e.g., storage device 408 (FIG. 4)).

Process 1000 continues to 1018, where the media guidance applicationbegins a process for determining whether the third travel time does notequal or exceed the revised threshold time. For example, if the thirdtravel time exceeds the revised threshold time, then the media assetwill be consumed in its entirety before the vehicle arrives at thedestination. If the third travel time does not exceed the revisedthreshold time, then the media asset cannot be consumed in its entiretybetbre the vehicle arrives at the destination using the second path.

If the third travel time does not equal or exceed the revised thresholdtime, Process 1000 continues to 1020, where the media guidanceapplication begins a process for alerting the user. If the third traveltime equals or exceeds the revised threshold time, Process 1000continues to 1024, where the media guidance application ends Process1000. For example, if a previously closed lane on a highway on thesecond path is opened up for traffic, then the amount of time requiredto traverse the remainder of the second path may be reduced and thethird travel time may not exceed the revised threshold time. Forexample, if the third travel time is 50 minutes and the amount of timeleft in order to consume a movie in its entirety is 60 minutes, themedia guidance application may alert the user that the remaining traveltime is less than the time left to consume the movie.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 10 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 10 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative example of a navigation display screen inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure, For example, a mediaguidance application as described herein may generate navigation displayscreen 1100 or the information used by, or transmitted to, navigationdisplay screen 1100. For example, navigation display screen 1100 may beincorporated into, or accessible by, a device upon which a mediaguidance application is implemented. Navigation display screen 1100 mayinclude arrival time region 1102 and media asset length region 1104.Arrival time region 1102 may display the estimated time to arrival ofthe current route. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine the estimated time to arrival by determining a best path froma first node to a final node and determining a travel time correspondingto the amount of time required to traverse the best path, as discussedbelow. Media asset length region 1104 may display the length of theselected media asset. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine a threshold time that corresponds to an amount of timerequired to consume the media asset in its entirety, as discussed below.For example, if the user selected a movie to be consumed during thecurrent trip, the length of the selected movie may be displayed. Theestimated time displayed in arrival torte region 1102 and media assetlength region 1104 may comprise an amount of time in hours and minutes.In some embodiments, the estimated time displayed in arrival time region1102 and media asset length region 1104 may comprise an amount of timein minutes and seconds.

Navigation display screen 1100 may include alternative media assetregion 1106 and media asset selection regions 1108 and 1110. Alternativemedia asset region 1106 may display alternative media assets for a userto consume during a trip. In seine embodiments, the length of thealternative media assets is less than the estimated time to arrivaldisplayed in arrival time region 1102. For example, the media guidanceapplication may display two movies whose length is less than theestimated time to arrival. In some embodiments, the alternative mediaassets are recommended based on the selected media asset. For example,if the user selected a classic comedy movie to watch during a trip, themedia guidance application may display other classic comedy movies whoselength is less than the estimated time to arrival. Media asset selectionregions 1108 and 1110 may display an indication in relation to thealternative media assets in alternative media asset region 1106. Forexample, the word “watch” may be displayed in media asset selectionregions 1108 and 1110. In a further example, a checkmark may bedisplayed in media asset selection regions 1108 and 1110.

Navigation display screen 1100 may be a touchscreen. For example, theuser may touch the region of navigation display screen 1100corresponding to media asset selection region 1108 in order to selectthe first alternative media asset in alternative media asset region1106. In a further example, the user may touch the region of navigationdisplay screen 1100 corresponding to media asset selection region 1110in order to select the second alternative media asset in alternativemedia asset region 1106.

Navigation display screen 1100 may include map region 1112. Map region1112 may include departure point 1114 and destination point 1116.Departure point 1114 and destination point 1116 may correspond tophysical locations, For example, departure point 1114 may correspond tothe user's home address and destination point 1116 may correspond to ahotel. Map region 1112 may include current route 1118. Current route1118 may correspond to the fastest route between departure point 1114and destination point 1116. For example, the media guidance applicationmay determine the fastest path between a first node and a final node andgenerate navigation instructions for the vehicle based on the firstpath, as discussed below.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims that follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

1.-51. (canceled)
 52. A method for calculating a route, the methodcomprising: determining, via control circuitry of a navigation device ofa vehicle, a first path from a first node to a final node, wherein thefirst path includes a second node between the first node and the finalnode; determining, using the navigation device, a first travel timecorresponding to an amount of time required to traverse the first pathin the vehicle; when the vehicle traverses on the first path, receiving,via a display on the navigation device, a user request to consume amedia asset; determining, via control circuitry of the navigationdevice, a threshold time corresponding to an amount of time required toconsume the media asset in its entirety; comparing the first travel timeand the threshold time to determine whether the threshold time exceedsthe first travel time; in response to determining that the thresholdtime exceeds the first travel time, the control circuitry of thenavigation device is configured to: 1) determine a second path from afirst node to a final node, wherein the second path includes a thirdnode between the first node and the final node; and 2) adjust thethreshold time based on a fast-access playback operation while the useris consuming the media asset; determining, using the navigation device,a second travel time corresponding to an amount of time required totraverse the second path in the vehicle; comparing the second traveltime and the adjusted threshold time to determine whether the adjustedthreshold time exceeds the second travel time; and in response todetermining that the second time equals or exceeds the adjustedthreshold time, generating, via the control circuitry of the navigationdevice, navigation instructions for the vehicle based on the second pathand the fast-access playback operation of the media asset.
 53. Themethod of claim 52, wherein the first path is defined by a series ofroads, traversable with the vehicle, connecting the first node to thefinal node.
 54. The method of claim 52, wherein the first nodecorresponds to an intersection of a plurality of roads, wherein each ofthe plurality of roads is traversable with the vehicle.
 55. The methodof claim 52, further comprising generating for display the navigationinstructions on a user interface in the vehicle.
 56. The method of claim55, further comprising receiving a user request to transmit thenavigation instructions to the navigation device in the vehicle.
 57. Themethod of claim 56, further comprising: receiving a user request toignore the navigation instructions; in response to receiving the userrequest to ignore the navigation instructions, generating secondarynavigation instructions for the vehicle, wherein the secondarynavigation instructions are based on the first path; and transmittingthe secondary navigation instructions to the navigation device in thevehicle.
 58. The method of claim 57, further comprising: generating anindication that the media asset cannot be consumed in its entirety; andgenerating for display the indication on the user interface in thevehicle.
 59. The method of claim 58, further comprising: determiningthat the vehicle has arrived at the final node; and in response todetermining that the vehicle has arrived at the final node, receiving auser request to finish consuming the media asset outside of the vehicle.60. The method of claim 52, wherein adjusting the threshold time basedon the fast-access playback operation comprises increasing the playbackspeed of the media.
 61. The method of claim 52, further comprising:determining the vehicle has begun traversing the second path; inresponse to determining that the vehicle has begun traversing the secondpath, determining a third travel time, wherein the third travel timecorresponds to an amount of time required to traverse a remainder of thesecond path in the vehicle, and initiating playback of the media asset;determining a revised threshold time, wherein the revised threshold timecorresponds to an amount of time required to consume the remainder ofthe media asset in its entirety after initiating playback; comparing thethird travel time and the revised threshold time; and in response todetermining that the third travel time does not equal or exceed therevised threshold time, alerting the user.
 62. A system for calculatinga route, the system comprising: interface circuitry configured toreceive a user request; and control circuitry configured to: determine,by a navigation device of a vehicle, a first path from the first node tothe final node, wherein the first path includes a second node betweenthe first node and the final node; determine by the navigation device ofthe vehicle a first travel time corresponding to an amount of timerequired to traverse the first path in the vehicle; when the vehicletravels on the first path, receive, via a display on the navigationdevice, the user request to consume a media asset; determine, viacontrol circuitry of the navigation device, a threshold timecorresponding to an amount of time required to consume the media assetin its entirety; compare the first travel time and the threshold time todetermine whether the threshold time exceeds the first travel time; inresponse to determining that the threshold time exceeds the first traveltime, the navigation device is configured to: 1) determine a second pathfrom a first node to a final node, wherein the second path includes athird node between the first node and the final node; and 2) adjust thethreshold time based on a fast-access playback operation while the useris consuming the media asset; determine, using the navigation device, asecond travel time corresponding to an amount of time required totraverse the second path in the vehicle; compare the second travel timeand the adjusted threshold time to determine whether the adjustedthreshold time exceeds the second travel time; and in response todetermining that the second time equals or exceeds the adjustedthreshold time, generate, via the navigation device, navigationinstructions for the vehicle based on the second path and thefast-access playback operation of the media asset.
 63. The system ofclaim 62, wherein the first path is defined by a series of roads,traversable with the vehicle, connecting the first node to the finalnode.
 64. The system of claim 62, wherein the first node corresponds toan intersection of a plurality of roads, wherein each of the pluralityof roads is traversable with the vehicle.
 65. The system of claim 62,wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: generate fordisplay the navigation instructions on a user interface in the vehicle.66. The system of claim 65, wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: receive a user request to transmit the navigationinstructions to the navigation device in the vehicle.
 67. The system ofclaim 66, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:receive a user request to ignore the navigation instructions; inresponse to receiving the user request to ignore the navigationinstructions, generate secondary navigation instructions for thevehicle, wherein the secondary navigation instructions are based on thefirst path; and transmit the secondary navigation instructions to thenavigation device in the vehicle.
 68. The system of claim 67, whereinthe control circuitry is further configured to: generate an indicationthat the media asset cannot be consumed in its entirety; and generatefor display the indication on the user interface in the vehicle.
 69. Thesystem of claim 68, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto: determine that the vehicle has arrived at the final node; and inresponse to determining that the vehicle has arrived at the final node,receive a user request to finish consuming the media asset outside ofthe vehicle.
 70. The system of claim 62, wherein the control circuitryis further configured to: determine the vehicle has begun traversing thesecond path; in response to determining that the vehicle has beguntraversing the second path, determine a third travel time, wherein thethird travel time corresponds to an amount of time required to traversea remainder of the second path in the vehicle, and initiate playback ofthe media asset; determine a revised threshold time, wherein the revisedthreshold time corresponds to an amount of time required to consume theremainder of the media asset in its entirety after initiating playback;compare the third travel time and the revised threshold time; and inresponse to determining that the third travel time does not equal orexceed the revised threshold time, alert the user.